A history of the Harrison family of Glaisdale and Egton Townships, North Yorkshire and Toronto Gore Township, Peel County, Ontario, Canada.

Friday, March 6, 2009

North Yorkshire - Esk River Valley

The family of William Harrison and Mary Hutchinson came from the area around the hamlet of Glaisdale and Egton, in the Esk River Valley of North Yorkshire, England (just above the first "o" in "Moors" in the map above). I am fairly confident that William's father Joseph Harrison, lived in a Poplar Hall, a cottage on the farm leased by his brother William in Glaisdaleside, Egton Township. William's first cousin Robert Harrison, son of William Harrison and Elizabeth Alcon moved into Poplar Hall after his marriage in 1822. Where William Harrison and Mary Hutchinson were living is not clear but they were certainly close by.

Further back however, our Harrisons came from the small community of Green Houses to the north west of Glaisdale on the edge of the moors.

Some of the cottages located here are for rent for vacations. The buildings have been converted from "the traditional farm buildings at Greenhouses Farm" but it is not clear if these are the buildings that the Harrisons lived in or not.

The Esk River has its headwaters in the western edges of the North Yorkshire Moors and flows in an easterly direction, joining the North Sea at Whitby. Today this, and a vast area around it, are located within the popular, North Yorkshire Moors National Park.